Hearing: Woman thought husband was cheating

Burson woman also accused of shooting her granddaughter

SAN ANDREAS - Charity Ford used .25-caliber semiautomatic handguns that she kept in a pink Victoria's Secret bag to kill her husband because she believed he was cheating on her, investigators testified Monday during a preliminary hearing of the evidence against Ford.

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By Dana M. Nichols

recordnet.com

By Dana M. Nichols

Posted Apr. 15, 2014 at 12:01 AM

By Dana M. Nichols
Posted Apr. 15, 2014 at 12:01 AM

» Social News

SAN ANDREAS - Charity Ford used .25-caliber semiautomatic handguns that she kept in a pink Victoria's Secret bag to kill her husband because she believed he was cheating on her, investigators testified Monday during a preliminary hearing of the evidence against Ford.

Ford, 56, of Burson, is charged with first-degree murder in the Oct. 16 shooting death of her husband, Randolph Ford, 52. She also faces charges of attempted murder in connection with the nonfatal shooting of her granddaughter, Britney McGhee, 20, and child endangerment for reportedly firing the guns in a home occupied by McGhee's 5-month-old son.

Following the preliminary hearing, Calaveras Superior Court Judge John E. Martin ordered Ford to stand trial on all three counts. She will return to court for further proceedings on April 28.

Deputies were dispatched to the Ford home on Amos Lane in Burson about 10:15 p.m. on Oct. 16.

Deputy Lucas Mack, one of those who testified at Tuesday's hearing, said he was among a group that found Randolph Ford's body facedown in the home's driveway. He said that Charity Ford exited the house when deputies shouted to her.

"As she was walking toward our location, she made a spontaneous statement: 'My husband was cheating on me,' " Mack said.

Detective Chris Dorsey took the stand to describe how photographs showed the location of both live rounds and spent .25-caliber bullet casings found along the driveway and inside the house.

Dorsey also identified the pink bag that had the guns and related the harrowing ordeal that McGhee described to him.

McGhee, Dorsey said, told him she was putting her child to sleep when she heard a gunshot. McGhee said she then went into the living room, where she saw Charity Ford shoot Randolph Ford in the hand. Charity Ford then shot McGhee in her leg, Dorsey said.

Dorsey said McGhee told him that she then returned to her bedroom, passed out briefly and awakened to call 911. Then McGhee told him that Randolph Ford came into McGhee's bedroom while trying to escape Charity Ford. There was a struggle at the bedroom door, with Randolph Ford pressing back against the door as Charity Ford tried to get into the room, Dorsey said.

After that, Randolph Ford at some point left the bedroom, and McGhee said she heard him exit by the home's front door, but that there were then several more gunshots.

Dorsey said he learned during an interview with Sharon Johnson, a family friend of the Fords, that the couple was contemplating a separation and that Charity Ford had recently spent time living at Johnson's home.

The couple appeared to be working out an amicable breakup, even agreeing on details such as dividing Randolph Ford's pension and how to divide property, Dorsey testified.

But after a brief reconciliation on Oct. 13, the couple began sleeping in separate rooms, Dorsey said.

Meanwhile, Randolph Ford was working in Stockton at a program called Teen Triumph, Dorsey said. After Randolph Ford came home late from work on Oct. 16, the Fords had an argument.

Detective Josh Crabtree said he interviewed Charity Ford and asked her why she believed Randolph Ford was cheating on her.

"She said he had cheated on her in 1994, and he acts a certain way when he does cheat, and he was acting that way now," Crabtree said of events leading up to the shooting.

Charity Ford's birthday was Oct. 3. She told Crabtree that she and Randolph Ford were supposed to do something together to celebrate her birthday later in the month. But when he came home on Oct. 16, he reportedly told her he'd made other plans.

Crabtree said that Charity Ford told him that when she heard that, she "just couldn't take it anymore and just went blank and went there."

Crabtree testified that Ford several times used the expression "went there" to describe her state at the time she shot her husband.

Even after he had been shot the first time, Randolph Ford reportedly told his wife it would still be possible to "work things out," Crabtree said.

She, however, kept shooting, pursuing him out the driveway and changing guns when one of the 25-caliber pistols jammed.

"She said she shot him until the bullets ran out," Crabtree said.

Crabtree said that Ford told him that after the shooting was done, "she went inside to smoke a cigarette."

Contact reporter Dana M. Nichols at (209) 607-1361 or dnichols@recordnet.com. Follow him at recordnet.com/calaverasblog and on Twitter @DanaReports.